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Editorial Style

Following NC State's editorial style lends your writing a professional sheen and ensures a consistent experience for all of our readers.

Clear, Consistent Writing

Editorial style is a set of rules that tells you what to do when there's more than one "correct" way to write something. Examples include determining which words to capitalize in a headline or when to spell out a number versus using a numeral. Without a clear-cut set of style guidelines, writers often address these situations in inconsistent and contradictory ways, which undermines their credibility.

NC State’s editorial style is based on The Associated Press Stylebook, with exceptions and additions as noted below. When AP style conflicts with NC State's own guidelines, you should follow the latter. To resolve questions of spelling, AP recommends using Merriam-Webster.

You should follow these rules far more often than not. However, situations may arise when bending a rule makes more sense than following it. Clarity and consistency are the most important considerations.

Use the search bar or index to find a specific editorial style reference.

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land-grant

The first federal legislation that authorized the creation of land-grant state universities was the Morrill Act of 1862. The legislation authorized the federal government to give states land that they could use to create universities that would teach “agriculture and mechanic arts” to the “industrial classes.” The hyphenated adjective land-grant (lowercase and with hyphen, as in land-grant state universities, land-grant tradition, and land-grant institution) is in keeping with the editorial practice of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities. It is correct to say the state received a land grant (no hyphen).

LGBTQ Pride Center

NC State’s LGBTQ Pride Center, a unit of NC State’s Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity, was founded in 2008 as the GLBT Center. The LGBTQ Pride Center’s mission is to engage, develop and empower members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities and their allies.

LGBTQ+

This is NC State’s preferred abbreviation for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and associated identities.” In quotations and the formal names of organizations and events, other variations, such as LGBT, LGBTQ and LGBTQIA+, are also acceptable.